Sports Report for Thursday, 1-3-2019

Wrestling… This past weekend the Laurens Raider wrestling team traveled down to Hilton Head to take part in the Coastal Clash… There were 21 teams there with 300 wrestlers registered for the event from not only South Carolina but also Georgia and Virginia… As coach Rob Sheffield put it “This is a big annual tournament that gave our wrestlers experience in a large tournament similar to the Up-State Tournament we will be hosting at the end of the season… The Raiders as a team finished 14th but one of the Raiders finished first in his weight class… That Raider was senior Will Pontoon… Two other Raiders did better than most at the tournament as Stetson Dawson finished 6th overall and Andrew Shelton finished 7th… Now for more details on how all the Raiders did and a photo of Will, click here… Congratulations to Will and the rest of the team for a good showing.

Wrestling in Action at Home Tonight… The Raider wrestling team will be back in action tonight as they host Easley and Woodmont in region action… The wrestlers should take to the mats about 6:30… Come on out and support the Raiders!

Sub-Varsity Teams Travel to Wade Hampton Tonight… The Raider JV teams and 9th grade boys’ team will be traveling to Wade Hampton today with the JV girls starting off the action at 5:30.

College Notes: While we have the time before local basketball gets back into full swing, let’s check on Clemson and South Carolina basketball teams and recap how they are doing

Clemson

Men… The Clemson Tiger men’s team is 10-3 on the season under Brad Brownell who is in his 9th year as head of the program… The Tigers start ACC play this Saturday as they travel to Durham to take on the #1 Duke Blue Devils… Tipoff is at 8:00 pm and it will be carried on ESPN

Women… The Lady Tiger basketball team is 9-4 on the season under first year head coach Amanda Butler… Last year they finished the season with an 11-19 record… They will be back in action tonight as they host Syracuse at Littlejohn Coliseum as they open ACC play… Tipoff is at 7:00 pm and it can be seen on ESPN.

South Carolina

Men… The South Carolina Gamecocks men’s team is 5-7 on the season under Frank Martin who is in his 7th year at South Carolina… The gamecocks will be in action this Saturday as they travel to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators as they open SEC play… The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm and can be seen on ESPN2.

Women… The Lady Gamecocks are 8-4 on the season under 11th year head coach Dawn Staley… The team starts SEC play tonight as they travel to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M… Tipoff is at 9:00 pm and it can be seen on the SEC Network.

Broadcast Notes… Remember sporting events are streamed live on the internet at www.wlbg.com.

Friday, 1-4-19: Laurens Raider varsity teams host the Wade Hampton Generals in Region I-AAAAA action…. We will go live a couple of minutes before 6:00 pm.

Tuesday, 1-8-19: Laurens Raider varsity teams host the Woodmont Wildcats in Region I-AAAAA action…. We will go live a couple of minutes before 6:00 pm.

Friday, 1-11-19: Laurens Raider varsity teams host the Greenwood Eagles in Region I-AAAAA action…. We will go live a couple of minutes before 6:00 pm.

High School & Middle School Sports Schedules for this Week

LDHS: To see the sports schedule for this week at LDHS and District 55 middle schools, click here

CHS: To see the sports schedule for this week at CHS and CMS, click here.

Clinton 1977& 1978 State Championship Teams To Hold Reunion…. Players from the 1978 Clinton High School State Championship Football Team will celebrate their 40th anniversary of winning the 3A State Championship on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at the House of Pizza in downtown Clinton SC at 2:00 pm… Also, Clinton High’s 1977 undefeated 3A State Championship Football Team is also invited to celebrate the only teams in Clinton High Football history and the first team in Laurens County Football history to win back to back State Championships… The 1977 team was also the #1 team in the State (all classification including 4A and what’s now called 5A)…If you are a former player from the 1977 and/or the 1978 team(s), please plan to attend and RSVP Dale Adams at 864 377-1536 or Keith Wooten at 864 980-7828 or Anthony Henderson at 864 684-8246 or JD Fuller at 803 466-3343… If you know members of these two teams, please pass this information on to them.

Laurens Family YMCA 2018 – 2019 Sports Schedules… The Laurens Family YMCA has released the schedules for signing up for different sports during the 2018-2019 sports seasons… To see the entire list of sports, ages for participation, sign-up dates, cost and when the season begins click here… If you have any other questions call the Y at 984-2626… Registration is now open for youth basketball for ages 3-6… The cost is $40 per child and registration will close 1-6-2019 with the season starting the next day.

Baseball Winter Camp… The Raider Baseball program will be hosting a one-day baseball camp on Saturday, January 19, 2019 from 11:00am-2:00pm… This camp will be held in the Main Gym at Laurens High School, as well as our indoor batting facility… The camp fee is $30/camper. If you have more than one child participating, each additional camper will be $20. This camp is being offered to anyone who is in 1st-8th grade. Campers will get the opportunity to practice and learn basic baseball fundamentals from the Raider Baseball coaches and players… For more information about his camp including what to bring, where to come to register that day, time to be there, who to contact for more information as well as the application form you will need to fill out, click here… Please email Coach Patterson if you plan on coming so they will know how many to expect…. His email address is: Kjpatterson@laurens55.org

If you have any comments, suggestions, or want to reports scores, please contact me via email at: sports@wlbg.com or text me at 864-981-3470.